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Smoke-free Belgium

From 1 January 2006, the law will prohibit smoking in all work places in Belgium (including schools and universities). But it is not before 1 January 2007 that all hotels, restaurants and cafes will fall under this new regulation. Good move, that was necessary given the high number of smokers in the country, and the absence of non-smoking zone in many cafes and even restaurants.

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"What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone?", Winston Churchill.

My city did that a while ago and it's so nice to shop in a smokefree zone and not have new clothing and such smell like smoke. I'm so used to it that
whenever I go to the states it's weird to see a smoking section in a restaurant.

I wish the British government would pull its finger from out of its arse about smoking regulations. First it was going to be only in places that serve food, then we will ban it in all pubs an bars, a move a lot of the public are for, but then they went and backtracked, AGAIN. Scotland is going to ban smoking in all pubs and bars and it is already in effect in Ireland. I think the tabacco producers are pulling on Tonys lead. I do not like our governement

My street in Minato-ku has recently had the pink pavements with no smoking signs installed.

Yes, many wards in Tokyo have banned smoking in the street. Nevertheless, smoking is still allowed in cafes and restaurants. I wonder what Tully's will do with its special room for smokers once smoking will be banned in cafes.

I have never heard of a ban of smoking in the street in Belgium, but that's probably because people look where they are going when they walk, unlike in Tokyo where people bump into you, throw their umbrella or cigarette in your face, just because they are day-dreaming or chatting or looking at their mobile at the same time.

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"What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone?", Winston Churchill.

Washington State just passed a smoking ban in bars and I don't like it. Non-smokers always get their way. This law even says you can't smoke 25 feet from the door of any business, but no one seems to be following that part.

For information on the pros and cons of teaching at Nova English schools in Japan, check out

I like it, can't stand smoke.Everytime I go to a party or caf&#233; (if I go at all ) my clothes smell really bad because of all that nasty smoke and my eyes hurt. Also smokers don't realize when they talk in your direction they smell really bad out of their mouths...

It is written in the Dutch newspapers today, that more people who are older than 50 years can't (or don't want to) stop smoking. On top of that they seem to be reckless about what they are eating and don't have enough daily exercise.
Smoking is bad for yourself, but also for non-smokers around you.

Selfish!? Non-smokers took airplanes and restaurants. Now bars?! Next thing you know they're going to ban alcohol from bars. There were non-smoking bars before, but now they ALL have to be.

If you are in the same place as smokers you automatically inhale toxins which can harm your health.

If non-smokers share places with smokers in an office for example, in 40 hours they inhale as much smoke as they would smoke 5 cigarettes.

Also yearly a lot of people die because of lungcancer and have illnesses because of passive smoking.That would a good reason why banning smoking from every public place don't you think? It's indeed smokers who are selfish because they force people to inhale their smoke.

I hope Denmark will go down that road too!!
I hate being in restaurants where there is no clear "smoking" and "non-smoking" sections. Being a non-smoker, I hate smelling smoke and ihaling their toxins when eating a meal......
Smokers are becoming more and more unpopular; especially in my circle of friends and acquaintances. The smokers are in a marginalised group, and just this motivates the smokers I have known – to quit. I must admit most of the people I hang out with are non-smokers, so being with smokers is something which happens very infrequently now.

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"What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone?", Winston Churchill.

I wish the British government would pull its finger from out of its arse about smoking regulations. First it was going to be only in places that serve food, then we will ban it in all pubs an bars, a move a lot of the public are for, but then they went and backtracked, AGAIN. Scotland is going to ban smoking in all pubs and bars and it is already in effect in Ireland. I think the tabacco producers are pulling on Tonys lead. I do not like our governement

I hadn't heard about that backtracking. I'm in favour of a total ban, because I don't like smoky atmospheres myself, and I don't think it's fair to expect people to work in a smoky place. My local has always been half-and-half, but you have to walk through the smoking area to get to the non-smoking, so it's not ideal. After the ban smoking will still be allowed on the patio. In the summer when the doors are open it will probably still be very smoky. Probably the best solution would be a total ban in all public places, but some bars can still apply for a special (expensive) licence to allow smoking. That might keep the smokers off our patios .

Brooker - I understand what you're saying, but how would you like it if I sat next to you and farted all through your meal?

Is it so different? Both involve emitting a smelly, recycled gaseous product from an orifice of the body. The main difference I can see is that farting next to someone isn't going to damage their health. But it wasn't my joke, I stole it from Armando Ianucci

Brooker - I understand what you're saying, but how would you like it if I sat next to you and farted all through your meal?

I wouldn't like it, but I'm not talking about restaurants. There haven't been many restaurants that allow smoking around here for a while. I'm talking about bars. When I go to a bar, I do it with the intention of partaking in various (legal) drugs that are bad for my health. I accepted all the other bans, but I think non-smokers are the greedy ones. Why couldn't they have left one last safe haven for people to go and have their vices? There are non-smoking bars. But non-smokers want everything. How about a few bars where people could go BECAUSE they want to smoke. Smokers can't even do that. There's no compromise here. It's all one sided. I don't even smoke all that often, but I like to have one when I'm out drinking. And I don't think a few smoking bars is too much to ask. If they were to open a few of those around here, I'm sure they'd be pretty popular.

For information on the pros and cons of teaching at Nova English schools in Japan, check out

"It's good thing,cause since a lot of people aren't alowed to smoke ,They might aswell smoke less"

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"What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone?", Winston Churchill.

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"What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone?", Winston Churchill.